How do You stay fit, fabulous and pregnant?

ksmi141

This is my first pregnancy, and I was working on being a healthier, fitter, awesomer me. That just kinda went out the window once the exhaustion and naseau started. Now, that I'm feeling more like myself, it's time to get back to it.

There's a lot of healthy debate about what you should and shouldn't do while pregnant, especially exercise-wise. Some of it is hard to tell between actual risk and just paranoia. The rules are definitely changing as more and more women have healthy babies while keeping active and fit lifestyles. [I actually knew a woman that had her husband brush her hair every day after they found out she was pregnant, because she was certain lifting her hands that high would hurt the baby. Incredibly sweet, but not very realistic.]

So, you mamas out there.... how did/do you stay Fit and Fabulous while pregnant?

JustAnotherGirlSuzanne

My doctor told me "nothing new" and "nothing that hurts". So if you ran before, run now until uncomfortable.

Tracking food to keep weight gain under control is one of the main concerns here.

DawnieB1977

I've had 3 babies. I carried on doing what I'd already been doing. I was already a gym regular so I was fine. I had 3 easy pregnancies and 3 easy births, which I'm sure were in part due to having kept fit throughout pregnancy. I still gained weight unfortunately, but I had healthy babies and kept my fitness, so that's all that matters really.

tiffanylacourse

I've decided that I'm going to start walking AT LEAST 30 minutes per day (and I'll take my overweight dog with me lol) - I love lifting weights, but I don't know if it was doing it regularly enough pre-pregnancy to continue it now that I've been not doing it for months.

Best of luck!

greypilgrimess

My Doctor is really easygoing, he said I can do pretty much whatever I already was, but no sparring in martial arts, and keep my HR below 140. I'm also wary of not letting myself get too hot, and drinking lots of water.

Now I need to focus on getting my calories from better sources!

pensivelildee1

The rules about doing whatever you were doing being you were pregnant is so hard! What if you were doing nothing before pregnancy? Do you continue to do nothing? I currently walk my dog for30 mins daily however I don't feel it's enough. I don't even break a sweat!

JustAnotherGirlSuzanne

@pensivelildee1 That's pretty well where I was, so I picked up a prenatal workout dvd and listened to my body when it told me to slow down or to give it my all. I had no problems with that.

JustAnotherGirlSuzanne

It's problematic too when you play a fair bit of potential impact sports (hockey, soccer, etc) and all of a sudden it's not safe to continue to play (impact to stomach could harm the baby). Then what do you do?

steph2strong

If you didn't work out pre-pregnancy than first getting clearance to start an exercise program from your doctor is always recommended. Once you get the green light low impact activity is recommended. Walking, swimming, pre-natal yoga classes and pre-natal workout videos are a great way to start. If you look on-line you can get at home body weight program (like performing squats, tricep dips, wall push-ups or push-ups on your knees, etc.). And always listen to your body, pick up the pace when your walking and feel like it, add some incline, likewise slow down when you don't have the gusto.

earthnut

I plan on continuing my current plan (moderate diet and exercise) through the first trimester, then get no bigger than 170 lbs during the 2nd & 3rd trimester. I started a c25k program a few months ago and will continue at my current pace. I might do more biking now, and switch to swimming later as I get bigger. If my BP climbs as it did in my first pregnancy I'm not going to worry about exercise at all. Better to take it easy.

But more important, I'm concentrating on getting nutrients. Folic acid, calcium, vit D, iron, etc. Especially at the beginning.

fit_mama30

You're right that there is a lot of paranoia/misconception out there. I was about 10 weeks pregnant when I met with a nurse for my first appt. She basically told me to keep going with the cardio, not to lift anything too heavy (25 pounds was too heavy for her) and also that I wouldn't want to keep dancing when I was 25 weeks pregnant, because I wouldn't be able to (too tired/big/I'm still not sure what she meant, especially since I do bellydancing, nothing acrobatics!). Wow!!! I decided to keep doing what I was doing before (heavy weights, cardio & dancing) anyways. And that was before a trip to Europe where I walked about 20-25K steps/day.

When I met with my actual OBGYN (an athletic young doctor) a couple of weeks later, he told me to keep doing what I was doing pre-pregnancy until it felt uncomfortable. If I was a runner, I could run until I no longer felt like I could. If I was lifting heavy weights, I could keep going! He suggested I didn't know any sport when I could fall, though (skiing, skating, etc.). But he had no issue with me squatting, deadlifting, etc. etc. but of course to listen to my body and stop when I no longer could. He told me to keep training until the end of the pregnancy, if I physically could. I lifted weights and did indoor cycling until I was about 36 weeks pregnant.

I didn't train for the first two months because I was exhausted, and for the last month I only walked because baby boy was kicking me in the cervix all the time and it was very painful. Otherwise, I kept doing what I was doing pre-pregnancy, I honestly think that's the best advice. And if you're not doing much before, just start slow with walks, swimming, stationary cycling, etc. Anything is better than nothing for you and the baby. I had a friend who was on bed rest, and felt very grateful I could still work out. Good luck!!!